City of New Orleans (song)

City of New Orleans is a song by American folk singer Steve Goodman from the year 1971. In Germany, the song was also featured with other text under the title When it is once again really summer? known in a pop version of the Dutch game show host Rudi Carrell.

Origin

Steve Goodman wrote the protest song about a ride on the train City of New Orleans in 1971. Backdrop was the closure of two -thirds of American long-distance trains in the same year, after the Nixon administration had dismissed the private railway companies from the obligation to operate the passenger trains. The newly established state passenger rail company Amtrak also underlined the previously operated by the Illinois Central Railroad City of New Orleans, although the cheapest travel option in the rich North had been to Chicago just for the ordinary people of New Orleans and the Southern States until then. These operations were many in American society as a victory of greed over American ideals. Goodman's chorus sums up this opinion in the indictment:

Also, it says in the last stanza:

Steve Goodman's recording did not reach the Hot 100, but probably by Arlo Guthrie. It reached number 18 in 1972 in the U.S. charts and became the biggest commercial success to Guthrie.

Cover versions

Also by many other artists such as John Denver, Johnny Cash and Judy Collins, the song was recorded and performed. As Willie Nelson City of New Orleans in 1984 took up the second time, so he landed a number-one hit on the U.S. country charts. Due to Goodman in 1985 posthumously awarded a Grammy for Best Country Song.

Versions in other languages

A first German -language version there was in 1972 by the Austrian singer Jonny Hill titled called City Of New Orleans A train. In the same year a French language version of the chanson singer Joe Dassin followed titled Salut les amoureux.

In 1973 the Dutchman Gerard Cox the song and turned it into 't Is weer voorbij the mooie zomer ( The beautiful summer is gone again ). With its Neutextung he had the end of 1973 a number -one hit in the Dutch charts.

His compatriot Rudi Carrell took the hit two years later from his home, and Thomas Woitkewitsch wrote the lyrics in German to When does it become again really summer?. The song was released by Ariola on Carrells album hit churning and was not released as a single with Howl on the B-side. The song reached number 18 in 1975 in the German charts. Published in 1995, Dieter Thomas Kuhn a cover version of When does it become again really summer?, A year later, the band Cream 21 was thus ranked 36 in the German charts. 2009, the song was published in German and English by the singer Indira Weis.